India issues arrest warrants for three Iranians in Delhi bombing

Indian police on Saturday identified three Iranian suspects in last month's bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat's wife in New Delhi, officials said Saturday.

Arrest warrants were issued for the suspects who were allegedly helped by an Indian, Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, already under arrest, DPA reported.

Tal Yehoshua Koren, wife of an Israeli defence attache, suffered shrapnel injuries in the attack at a traffic light near her embassy in the capital on February 13.

"On basis of thorough and meticulous investigations, three Iranians have been identified by the investigating authorities as suspects," Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.

"Investigations in the case are underway and no conclusions can be drawn at this stage."

Delhi Police said arrest warrants had been issued for Houshang Afshar Irani, Seyed Ali Mahdiansadr and Mohammadreza Abolghasemi, all in their late 30s. Cash, a car and a bicycle used to scout the areas near the embassy were recovered from Kazmi.

Israel has accused Iran of involvement in the attack. But Tehran has denied the charges, calling them "unfortunate and sheer lies."

The police also linked the bombing in New Delhi to a botched attempt in Bangkok on February 14.

Police said Houshang Irani, who stuck a magnetic explosive device to the Israeli embassy car was linked to another Iranian, Sedaghatzadeh Masoud who was arrested in Malaysia for the Bangkok bombing plot.

Akbaruddin said India had sought the assistance of Interpol and Iranian authorities for finding and extraditing the men.

"We have informed the Iranian ambassador of these developments so as to seek the cooperation of the Iranian authorities in bringing those involved in this dastardly attack to justice," he said.